Public Education Funding By Ted Lewis and David Marino

Overview of Education Funding Public schools funded by local property taxes Managed at the district level

Arguments For Equitable Funding Lower income school districts would receive more money (Funding gap 2005) True equity of opportunity The quality of the average education would increase

Arguments against Equitable Funding Taxes paid should go to the districts those people live in If money is equally distributed, the highest quality schools would lose quality

No Child Left Behind Passed in 2001 Sets academic standards for schools, measured by standardized tests Incentives for school that meet requirements Schools required to provide for students when standards not met

Pros/Cons of NCLB Pros Encourages schools to improve and perform well Sets national standards for educational quality Requires lagging schools to reach standards cons Less funding for struggling schools Does not provide funding to carry out the bills provisions Federal intrusion into a “state issue”

Race to the Top Part of American Recovery and Reinvestment act of 2009 Sets criteria to measure improvement in education quality Offers additional funding to states that can display a significant improvement

Pros/cons of Race to the Top Pros Sets comprehensive list of requirements for improvement Sets incentives for improvement Cannot lose funding if standards are not met Cons Not all states are eligible for the extra funding (opt-in) Does not focus on improving low achieving schools Does not require schools to increase performance

Interest Groups KNEA (Kansas National Education Association) Increased investment in public education Adequate funding for all public schools

Interest Groups The Heritage Foundation Returning education authority to the states Belief that steps to equity of education will lead to mediocre education

Statistics The U.S. spent $562.3 billion in the school year. (NECS) In the school year, the government spent $10,041 per student on average (NECS)

Statistics In the long term, Reading and Mathematics scores have increased over the past 30 years.

Recent Developments The start of the Race to the Top Program (July 24, 2009) Phase 2 decisions announced on August 24, 2010

Republican Party Positions High Standards Giving Parents the option to choose schools

Democratic Party Positions Democrats cite Race to the Top as their position on education

Green Party Opinion The Green Party supports choice in the type of education Green Party supports an equitable distribution of state and national funding

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